IMPORTANT PSA: Denuvo is built into Warhammer 40k: Chaos Gate Daemonhunters, thIs was brought to my attention by a commenter, I had no idea that it was in the game, if you'd prefer to completely avoid Denuvo, do keep that in mind. ALSO: I got some details wrong regarding Warhammer 40k lore and my pronunciation of Chimera (I was a book kid leave me alone lol), if you're interested in the correct 40k lore there's some great comments that have a pretty well put explanation of the correct lore. I sadly can't pin two things at once so... you'll have to go find them :p
lol I wasn’t gonna say anything about your chimera pronunciation but glad someone helped lol. As a fan of XCom, have to bring up Gears Tactics. There’s also Phantom Doctrine which is a nice take on the genre with a Cold War spy theme
@@nimblemonster Frankly Chimera Squad needed characters because their presence enhances encounters with narrative comments and insight, and the increase of worldbuilding is a big strength to Chimera Squad. What I don’t like although is how much smaller scale it is
It's because you are weak, and have a good computer. But me, the switch master race, would rather go on without the one soldier, or squad, if it meant avoiding 17 hours of loading time.
I remember one game where my mains got wiped out then a bunch of rookies went into the next one and I figured after these guys get wiped, I'll restart but they won that mission and became my next set of mains until they got wiped too lol. Honestly some of the best missions are the losing ones, like when the one the Chosen finds you and leads an assault against you.
Just saying, if some of you didn't play it : Xcom enem within with the mod long war. In my eyes, it still surpasses xcom2 wotc, even with the limitations of xcom2. Long war is easily the best xcom experience i ever had, although it is brutal, unforgiving, and can be pretty lenghty. In long war, some missions are ambushes by the aliens, meaning that they deploy stuff way above your level, and it's up to you to understand that and retreat, or prepare for a slug fest.... I persisted in one, and i think i spend more than 15 hours on the mission. Was late game, so i had tools, but i barely managed. On the other hand, the rewards were... worthy! Classes are redefined, you have more control over stuff, progression feels smoother; aliens progress more logically too, and some missions are simply memorable. Some of the "random" missions feel like the final mission of another game. Xcom devs stated that long war was the better way to play xcom or something similar. Obviously, they couldn't their game like that, because it would be too hard for begginers. Anyways, try long war. It is a mod, it is free, and probably one of the best mods (if not the best) i played in 30 years of gaming. (long war 2 for xcom2 is by the same team, but it is WAY smaller scale, long war 1 revamped every aspect of xcom1)
Good video, I like the fact that you are speaking with the actual player experience, telling what you enjoyed and what you didn't. Too many reviewers just toss the games on a list, saying every title is great, so in the end you're not sure which to try.
Yeah I would hate for somebody to spend their hard-earned cash on a game I recommended and hate it because I falsely praised it (another good youtuber I recommend that is great at reviewing is Skill-Up, he's very honest even if I don't always agree with him)
Few corrections: Chimera is pronounced "kay-meh-rah" In daemonhunters, you play as the grey knights, not the grey wolves, and they are a separate faction from the ultramarines.
Chaos Gate AND Gears Tactics is closest to X-COM that I can think of... they are both great but contained universes. I appreciate X-COM 2 for the mods because I can have Deadpool in my squad and it doesn't feel lore-breaking somehow lol
I definitely agree lol, I talked about Gears Tactics in my sequel video to this one, they definitely both have some really good additions to the XCOM formula while still feeling really fresh. And yeah, XCOM 2's modding community and compatibility is so good lmao
I'd like to add one game to your list: "Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children". Great story and the most elaborate and deep character customization system of all XCOM-like games.
You didn't mention OpenXCOM or Xenonauts. You should update this video. Also suggesting that PP is made by ex-XCOM devs is kinda of wrong. It was made by the guy that did the first three 90's XCOM games.
I like xcom2 I just wish I had unlimited time to play. But honestly I kinda enjoy the feeling it gives me fighting against the clock of the avatar project.
I think it definitely adds an interesting dynamic, but there are some mods you can install to remove the timer if you wanna try it out that way (the mod Long War is really good too, just makes the game a lot longer ((and a ton of other stuff that's super cool highly recommend checking it out))
the Grey Knights are an own Chapter dedicated to the Inqustions Department "Ordo Malleus". Although they might recruit Psikers from other Space-Marine Chapters, they are independet and those who you do not belong to their origin chapter anymore. Once a grey knight, always grey knight, even in death. ;-)
@@nimblemonster "there is no such thing as innocence, only degree's of guilt" - i will count that as a lesser degree due to your wish to demeem yourself. but i cannot speak for the holy inquisitor. ;-)
Phoenix point was amazing. I liked the level of customisation over xcom2 and the aiming system rocked. It was a lot easier if you manually aimed all the time. Such a good game
Uhm... there are a few... errors in your statements as to the Warhammer thing... You play as the Grey Knights, which are their own chapter that is more than a little Unique amongst Space Marines. Just a few points: Every Grey Knight is a Psyker, Psykers are forbidden from becoming Space Marines due to the possible corruption through the Warpentities. GKs were already full fledged Space Marines of any loyalist chapter upon recruitment into the GKs. Their Primarch (Geneseed-Daddy) is the Emperor himself. Luetin has a couple of short explanatory videos as to the finer details, about 2h total, iirc. The Grey Wolves are the Primaris successor chapter to the Space Wolves, which are very much NOT Ultramarines. Different Primarch, completely different battle tactics, mentality, etc. Example: Lets say the fight does not go too well and the Space Marines are driven into a corner. While a Wolves chapter is more prone to double down and make a ferocious assault, the Ultramarines would more likely execute a tactical retreat, regroup, reinforce and rejoin the battle later from a better position.
My apologies for not understanding the Grey and Space wolves very well, I am very much a beginner when it comes to 40k lore so I appreciate the correction!
Psychers can be regular space marines some chapters/factions forbid it rest have them as units called librarians very rare except for the grey knights who are all psychic.
Another good one is Othercide. It has a much smaller scale than X-Com, with just 4 classes and a rather short campaign, but it creates a great atmosphere of uncertainty and fear, almost to the level of Darkest Dungeon. It also have an expansive trait system that gives a degree of personality to each of your fighters. This game doesn't last for long, but the experience is amazing.
I'm actually a massive fan of Othercide, I talk about it in the sequel video to this one! Super happy to see another fan of it in the wild, it's a fantastic game
I actually though Chimera squad was excellent. It takes the logical next step in the direction that the franchise was heading looking at both xcom 1 and 2. With the scaling back of the base building side, and the narrowing of the focus into the breach mechanic, it actually made some refreshing changes to the game play without ending up feeling like non-xcom. Yes the lack of permadeath makes it feel like low stakes but for me I liked the level of risk and reward the game gives you. Between the choices of missions and recruits, it felt really well balanced in my opinion.
I think it wasn't without it's flaws (and personally I do consider it a weak entry to the XCOM franchise) but it's by no means a bad game, I think it reminds me of Far Cry's in-between titles (like primal, blood dragon, etc.) a reimagining of the initial game before it that holds some interesting concepts that I hope they carry forward. I actually really liked the breach mechanic as well, and I think the alien units functioned excellently. But I can't help but feel it's missing some of that XCOM 2 magic, I do recommend it for people to play, and I mostly included it in this video because I know the negativity around it caused a lot of people to pass on it. I do understand XCOM 2 fans despising since it's so different from typical XCOM, but I also think they (most of them at least) would have liked the game if it didn't have XCOM plastered onto the cover.
I miss Jagged Alliance. Turn-based game with realistic theme is a huge hole in the videogames offering since long time ago. You only have Phantom Doctrine. The rest are worlds with aliens, robots, zombies, etc. Don't get me wrong: I'm an old gamer (I played X-Com Terror from the Deep when it came out), but I also would love to play in a realistic theme.
I absolutely agree, I do recommend giving Tactical Combat Department (I haven't managed to play it yet and it's mixed on steam so keep that in mind) but it seems to be sort of what you're looking for. Also Jagged Alliance 3 is in the works! So hopefully we won't have to wait too long for that. EDIT: Also check out End State, not out yet but looks really good
Jagged Alliance 2 was my fave game of all time - played it to death (and adored the Microprose UFO Enemy Unknown and Terror from the Deep). Epic atmosphere in all.
@@jezworld hah, I remember back then, when I booted up the game, both younger brothers were watching me, so I was narrating for them a little like 'I got an e-mail, lets open it.' Dad overheard it and at the time, we still had dial-up internet, so he went ballistic, shouting to turn the internet off, before I got to explain to him it's not a 'real' email and I wasn't connected to internet.
Also ROAD TO EDEN: Year zero. This game was insanely hard for a while. I feel like if i played on a harder difficulty itve been impossible. It has a different setup, youre able to explore maps and find enemies which need to be strategically dispatched in order to be able to survive. Guns feel weak at the early mid game which was the hardest. I recommend
Glad you liked the video! The song is Lamp by Lukrembo, I strongly recommend checking out some of his other music as well if you like that one, all in a similar vain of chill jazz and all of its fantastic
ooh yeah Phoenix point.. totally forgot about that game. Thanks for reminding me.. i got that craving again and decided to go for LWotC, but im so slow at learning how they changed to much im kinda burned out of spesifically learning the LW's early game farther.
Yo, I liked your list! I feel there are others for you to check: - Gears of War:Tactics - Wasteland 3 - Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden You'll probably love them too, for a few different reasons. It's sad though, bc XCOM is really unparalleled.
Yeah XCOM will always carry that top spot, I do talk about Gears Tactics in my second video in this series and wasteland 3 in my third if you're interested 👀
I take no issue with Warhammer errors... LOL. Now, your comment that Phoenix Point was 'made by a cell of former X-Com developers' is an extreme understatement. Julian Gollop is THE X-COM/XCOM creator, the OG 1994 Classic with a hyphen! Someone wrote a book about him, and the OG X-COM, "Monsters in the Dark" by David Craddock. Good book, full of great tidbits about the gold standard of squad level turn based tactical (on tabletop, we call it 'skirmish') games. Okay, back to watching the rest of the video after pausing to point this out.
I haven't finished it yet but I'm about 8 hours in, and I can pretty confidently say it's quite fantastic, planning on releasing a video that will go a little more in depth about that game as well as a few others this Saturday.
@@nimblemonster Definitely worth checking out. If you like turn based strategies I also highly recommend Final Fantasy Tactics. It has a lot of jRPG flavors but is still fantastic strategy nevertheless.
This game made me want to throw my PC out the window. a few hours of "ok seems fun and complicated" followed by lies and deception. way too easy to break the game and shit on AI. 3/10 max.
Chimera, Pronounced ( Kai-Merra ) If you want your mind F*cking Blown go look how a human Chimera is made! Holy sh*t it's creepy. I had a Chimera Cat with a perfect Strip of black and orange on either side.
Is there a fix for the VIP in the Advent vehicle bug.? The vehicle keeps spawning outside the playable area. I am having to keep reloading to avoid the mission
I did some looking in to it and it looks like that's a bug that only happens with the Epic Games Store version, so the only fix at the moment is to have a save before every mission so you can reload just in case or to buy it on steam :/ sorry there isn't an easier fix, that's a super lame bug.
Fire Emblem is quite good when it comes to that, theres entire character plotlines you can miss out on if they die (I've only played a little bit of it but my brother loves it) it is a little more jrpg-ish so depends if that's your speed. Gears Tactics is good on the customization and perma-death too, and plays incredibly similar to XCOM 2, but there are a couple "main character" units that can't perma-die which is a bit immersion breaking. Otherwise Phoenix Point is basically XCOM 2 (was made by some of the X2 devs actually) just with a different coat of paint and some fun new mechanics. Apologies for the long winded reply lol
Fire Emblem series is nice, its basically Xcom but fantasy medieval combat. It got permanent death too, and its even more painful because your character have personality and history.
I mean, I wouldn't call it "basically xcom" since by that logic all turn based games with level up systems are identical in gameplay :'D That said Fire Emblem is really great Strategy RPG series.
@@ShadowoftheMask well, it got % based hit chances, permanent death, environment based combat (terrain is Fire Emblem cover bonus). It is xcom with sword and magic
My favorite replacement i use is Battle Brothers, issue i have with phoenix point is that i feel like its a worse version of xcom, and im not sure why l because it on paper sounds like it should be a lot more fun bcuz its more diverse with vehicles and armor swapping etc, but i just find it boring.
Daemon has a similar meaning to genius. It isn't an evil thing, but a creative and sometimes disruptive power. Everyone has a daemon, get in touch with yours to become self-actualized. Demon is a lot of Victorian BS about a misinterpretation of thousands of years of philosophy and religion. Your fundamentalist uncle believes demons are possessing your high school drama teacher. They also make good boss level challenges in fantasy RPGs and vid games. Deeemon. Daaamon. You decide.
@@nimblemonster cool. Hope you enjoy it. It’s definitely different from XCOM but still scratches the same itch and feels fresh. Finished my second campaign now and thinking about a third already. After playing Light and Dark Hunters now want to try a balanced/flexible approach and dive more into specialized mission teams.
to add another game to your list try xenonaughts it was the way xcom first was and i find it really enjoyable if you can handle the way xcom used to be
I just can’t get over Chimera Squads story. 5 years. Everyone found out how the elders fucked them into the dirt and are now buddy buddy. It just seems so half assed. I love the gameplay (though the death = game over is annoying) and the cinematically seemed to have gotten better. But it just seems so weird how the muton is now this fish faced guy and not the monster shock trooper in only 5 years. By this point every alien has been subjected to the highest extent where I can only see a few coming to terms. Not the amount there is in Chimera Squad. I honestly think they dropped the ball. Could’ve had an interesting story where each character shows us how they escaped and how the factions are taking it.
It was definitely a missed opportunity, hopefully future entries at least attempt to give us more in-depth looks at the aliens and how the previous wars affected them
totally agree about chimera squad - it just doesn't appeal to me like xcom 1 and 2. I especially don't like that there's a big cast and you can only pick like 6 of them or whatever. I guess it makes for replayability but for me was just disappointing.
X-com 2 is one of the GREATEST games of all times play vanilla and have an absolute blast , then add 150+ mods and make the game Harder, or Better, play Faster , characters Stonger ^^
Three most addictive games I ever played in my life are turn based, and I'm not a big fan of the genre or anything. Civ 5 was the first turn based game I played and it literally had me playing the entire night until the sun came up and had to go to work. Deleted it and never touched it again. Then came Xcom /Xcom 2 are both extremely addictive too though, so be careful is my only advice lol. They are games that will eat up 3-4 hours of time in what feels like the bat of an eye.
I wanna try chaosgate, but haven't got around to it yet, partially because I hear it's kinda on the easy side, which is something I generally dislike. I prefer phoenix point over xcom 2 in most ways actually, and not due to challenge. I just like the aiming mechanics so much more, as well as the dual classing. My main beef with phoenix point though is mid-game. You get to the point where there are no more areas to salvage for resources in your area. You don't have enough tech and/or materials to purchase new bases or radar assemblies for them, so you just sit there waiting and hoping that the enemy invades a haven or something so you can get some precious resources to hopefully expand. OH, and that there are like 4-5 side quests that are on the opposite side of the world you can't get at because you can't buy said bases/radar assemblies. No matter what I do I get this. In my last playthru I didn't buy a single vehicle, flight or ground, I'm using kaos guns exclusively (and living weapons) because you don't pay for their ammo, and I only bought them on the cheap. I didn't even construct a single structure other than radar assemblies, and I STILL went broke in tech before getting half the map covered. I got all of South and North America, Antarctica, and pretty much all of Asia covered, almost at Australia, Europe, and Africa next. But somehow I don't have a single synedrion base in my territory, so I can't efficiently trade for tech like ever. argh.
As an Xcom clone, I prefer Gears Tactics then Phoenix Point. late game PP kills me, it does give tou new high level evolution of previous enemies, it just give more and more armor. In the end the strongest enemy are imune to most of your squad besides the explosion dude
IMPORTANT PSA: Denuvo is built into Warhammer 40k: Chaos Gate Daemonhunters, thIs was brought to my attention by a commenter, I had no idea that it was in the game, if you'd prefer to completely avoid Denuvo, do keep that in mind.
ALSO: I got some details wrong regarding Warhammer 40k lore and my pronunciation of Chimera (I was a book kid leave me alone lol), if you're interested in the correct 40k lore there's some great comments that have a pretty well put explanation of the correct lore. I sadly can't pin two things at once so... you'll have to go find them :p
lol I wasn’t gonna say anything about your chimera pronunciation but glad someone helped lol. As a fan of XCom, have to bring up Gears Tactics. There’s also Phantom Doctrine which is a nice take on the genre with a Cold War spy theme
Try Gears Tactics ٠ am sure you will love it. I also think its in game pass
@@aguywhocodes my sequel video talks about both of those! I agree, they are good games for sure
@@Nebras-yc4sp I talk about that one in the sequel video, it's goooood
@@nimblemonster Frankly Chimera Squad needed characters because their presence enhances encounters with narrative comments and insight, and the increase of worldbuilding is a big strength to Chimera Squad.
What I don’t like although is how much smaller scale it is
"Losing a high level soldier was *INTENSE* in xcom 2" yes an *INTENSE* level of restarting
We're not supposed to admit that
It's because you are weak, and have a good computer.
But me, the switch master race, would rather go on without the one soldier, or squad, if it meant avoiding 17 hours of loading time.
I remember one game where my mains got wiped out then a bunch of rookies went into the next one and I figured after these guys get wiped, I'll restart but they won that mission and became my next set of mains until they got wiped too lol. Honestly some of the best missions are the losing ones, like when the one the Chosen finds you and leads an assault against you.
I see you play your "fire emblem has permadeath card".
At least an auto-save where the solider is alive lol.
I'm obsessed with XCOM2. I just adore the turn-based strategy aspect and never knew I would love these so much!
3:40 "You play as the gray wolves... an elite force of the ultra marines..." Heresy!
I KNOW IM SORRY
@@nimblemonster The emperor forgives you.
Was searching for this, not disappointed
Calling the audience a bitch at the end was a flawless move and has earned you my subscription
Just saying, if some of you didn't play it : Xcom enem within with the mod long war. In my eyes, it still surpasses xcom2 wotc, even with the limitations of xcom2. Long war is easily the best xcom experience i ever had, although it is brutal, unforgiving, and can be pretty lenghty. In long war, some missions are ambushes by the aliens, meaning that they deploy stuff way above your level, and it's up to you to understand that and retreat, or prepare for a slug fest.... I persisted in one, and i think i spend more than 15 hours on the mission. Was late game, so i had tools, but i barely managed. On the other hand, the rewards were... worthy!
Classes are redefined, you have more control over stuff, progression feels smoother; aliens progress more logically too, and some missions are simply memorable.
Some of the "random" missions feel like the final mission of another game.
Xcom devs stated that long war was the better way to play xcom or something similar. Obviously, they couldn't their game like that, because it would be too hard for begginers.
Anyways, try long war. It is a mod, it is free, and probably one of the best mods (if not the best) i played in 30 years of gaming. (long war 2 for xcom2 is by the same team, but it is WAY smaller scale, long war 1 revamped every aspect of xcom1)
Long War is best XCOM mod hands down (Long War on XCOM2 is also quite amazing)
Good video, I like the fact that you are speaking with the actual player experience, telling what you enjoyed and what you didn't.
Too many reviewers just toss the games on a list, saying every title is great, so in the end you're not sure which to try.
Yeah I would hate for somebody to spend their hard-earned cash on a game I recommended and hate it because I falsely praised it (another good youtuber I recommend that is great at reviewing is Skill-Up, he's very honest even if I don't always agree with him)
Two games i love when i’m not playing X Com 2:
Invisible Inc, Mutant Year Zero
Few corrections:
Chimera is pronounced "kay-meh-rah"
In daemonhunters, you play as the grey knights, not the grey wolves, and they are a separate faction from the ultramarines.
I went crossed eyed when I heard that🤣😂🤣 Rogue trader era guy here
Cambridge dictionary gives these pronunciations:
US:
/kaɪˈmɪr.ə/
UK:
/kaɪˈmɪə.rə/
"Kay" (like in okay) is pronounced "/keɪ/"
That's different.
@@TheRawrnstuff true, but it's closer than chai
When i heard that shit i almost passed out
Its pronounced kai like from ninjago
Chaos Gate AND Gears Tactics is closest to X-COM that I can think of... they are both great but contained universes. I appreciate X-COM 2 for the mods because I can have Deadpool in my squad and it doesn't feel lore-breaking somehow lol
I definitely agree lol, I talked about Gears Tactics in my sequel video to this one, they definitely both have some really good additions to the XCOM formula while still feeling really fresh. And yeah, XCOM 2's modding community and compatibility is so good lmao
Gears Tactics, So Good!
@F There is whole game overhaul that lets you play at Star Wars and shit man.
@F Nexusmods is the way to go !
I'd like to add one game to your list: "Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children". Great story and the most elaborate and deep character customization system of all XCOM-like games.
Currently playing through it right now! I'm really enjoying it, Don is best boy
That title seems ripe for misinterpretation when out of context.
@@TheNapster153 Not to mention that hardly anyone would google the word group around "Troubleshoot" when looking for a video game.
@@TheNapster153 I got excited that this has something to do with Paranoia TTRPG, but sadly nope...
You didn't mention OpenXCOM or Xenonauts. You should update this video. Also suggesting that PP is made by ex-XCOM devs is kinda of wrong. It was made by the guy that did the first three 90's XCOM games.
Never too soon to play xcom 2
@@lalalalalalalalalala-js5xl always true
I like xcom2 I just wish I had unlimited time to play. But honestly I kinda enjoy the feeling it gives me fighting against the clock of the avatar project.
I think it definitely adds an interesting dynamic, but there are some mods you can install to remove the timer if you wanna try it out that way (the mod Long War is really good too, just makes the game a lot longer ((and a ton of other stuff that's super cool highly recommend checking it out))
the Grey Knights are an own Chapter dedicated to the Inqustions Department "Ordo Malleus". Although they might recruit Psikers from other Space-Marine Chapters, they are independet and those who you do not belong to their origin chapter anymore. Once a grey knight, always grey knight, even in death. ;-)
Appreciate the correction! I figured that out pretty fast after uploading the video lol, I hope you'll forgive my heresy
@@nimblemonster "there is no such thing as innocence, only degree's of guilt" - i will count that as a lesser degree due to your wish to demeem yourself. but i cannot speak for the holy inquisitor. ;-)
Yeah when I heard that I was like: Hold up, battle brother ... THAT"S HERESY!!!!
The ending caught me off guard 😂
Phoenix point was amazing. I liked the level of customisation over xcom2 and the aiming system rocked. It was a lot easier if you manually aimed all the time. Such a good game
The last mission just needs not to f’ing exist.
@@lohikaarmeherra-1753 once I understood what I was doing it wasn't too hard but the first 2 times it kinda sucked.
I like how the first one is:
When you crave XCOM, play XCOM!
Uhm... there are a few... errors in your statements as to the Warhammer thing...
You play as the Grey Knights, which are their own chapter that is more than a little Unique amongst Space Marines.
Just a few points:
Every Grey Knight is a Psyker, Psykers are forbidden from becoming Space Marines due to the possible corruption through the Warpentities.
GKs were already full fledged Space Marines of any loyalist chapter upon recruitment into the GKs.
Their Primarch (Geneseed-Daddy) is the Emperor himself.
Luetin has a couple of short explanatory videos as to the finer details, about 2h total, iirc.
The Grey Wolves are the Primaris successor chapter to the Space Wolves, which are very much NOT Ultramarines. Different Primarch, completely different battle tactics, mentality, etc. Example: Lets say the fight does not go too well and the Space Marines are driven into a corner. While a Wolves chapter is more prone to double down and make a ferocious assault, the Ultramarines would more likely execute a tactical retreat, regroup, reinforce and rejoin the battle later from a better position.
My apologies for not understanding the Grey and Space wolves very well, I am very much a beginner when it comes to 40k lore so I appreciate the correction!
Psychers can be regular space marines some chapters/factions forbid it rest have them as units called librarians very rare except for the grey knights who are all psychic.
@@Kir_Geo I had the "keep it simple, stupid!" premise in mind to avoid info-dumping too hard.
🤓
That's not true. Many chapters use psykers
xenonaughts
100 hours? Bless.
Another good one is Othercide. It has a much smaller scale than X-Com, with just 4 classes and a rather short campaign, but it creates a great atmosphere of uncertainty and fear, almost to the level of Darkest Dungeon. It also have an expansive trait system that gives a degree of personality to each of your fighters. This game doesn't last for long, but the experience is amazing.
I'm actually a massive fan of Othercide, I talk about it in the sequel video to this one! Super happy to see another fan of it in the wild, it's a fantastic game
I actually though Chimera squad was excellent. It takes the logical next step in the direction that the franchise was heading looking at both xcom 1 and 2. With the scaling back of the base building side, and the narrowing of the focus into the breach mechanic, it actually made some refreshing changes to the game play without ending up feeling like non-xcom.
Yes the lack of permadeath makes it feel like low stakes but for me I liked the level of risk and reward the game gives you. Between the choices of missions and recruits, it felt really well balanced in my opinion.
I think it wasn't without it's flaws (and personally I do consider it a weak entry to the XCOM franchise) but it's by no means a bad game, I think it reminds me of Far Cry's in-between titles (like primal, blood dragon, etc.) a reimagining of the initial game before it that holds some interesting concepts that I hope they carry forward. I actually really liked the breach mechanic as well, and I think the alien units functioned excellently. But I can't help but feel it's missing some of that XCOM 2 magic, I do recommend it for people to play, and I mostly included it in this video because I know the negativity around it caused a lot of people to pass on it.
I do understand XCOM 2 fans despising since it's so different from typical XCOM, but I also think they (most of them at least) would have liked the game if it didn't have XCOM plastered onto the cover.
BRO!!! EXACTLY THE SAME
Grey Wolves from the Ultramarines what?!! Welcome to Warhammer friend
XCOM 2 and Pheonix Point are both excellent !
Hadn't heard of a couple of these, thanks bud!
Happy to help!
100 hours in XCOM2? LOL, you have far to go young grasshopper.
I miss Jagged Alliance. Turn-based game with realistic theme is a huge hole in the videogames offering since long time ago. You only have Phantom Doctrine. The rest are worlds with aliens, robots, zombies, etc. Don't get me wrong: I'm an old gamer (I played X-Com Terror from the Deep when it came out), but I also would love to play in a realistic theme.
I absolutely agree, I do recommend giving Tactical Combat Department (I haven't managed to play it yet and it's mixed on steam so keep that in mind) but it seems to be sort of what you're looking for. Also Jagged Alliance 3 is in the works! So hopefully we won't have to wait too long for that.
EDIT: Also check out End State, not out yet but looks really good
Jagged Alliance 2 was my fave game of all time - played it to death (and adored the Microprose UFO Enemy Unknown and Terror from the Deep). Epic atmosphere in all.
@@jezworld hah, I remember back then, when I booted up the game, both younger brothers were watching me, so I was narrating for them a little like 'I got an e-mail, lets open it.'
Dad overheard it and at the time, we still had dial-up internet, so he went ballistic, shouting to turn the internet off, before I got to explain to him it's not a 'real' email and I wasn't connected to internet.
Did you ever play with the 1.3 mod?
Jagged alliance 3 just came out
Also ROAD TO EDEN: Year zero.
This game was insanely hard for a while. I feel like if i played on a harder difficulty itve been impossible. It has a different setup, youre able to explore maps and find enemies which need to be strategically dispatched in order to be able to survive. Guns feel weak at the early mid game which was the hardest.
I recommend
Already have it downloaded, planning on starting this one up this weekend!
loved the vid 10/10 amazon 5 star rating , yo whats the jazz background song in your video i MUST KNOW :D
Glad you liked the video! The song is Lamp by Lukrembo, I strongly recommend checking out some of his other music as well if you like that one, all in a similar vain of chill jazz and all of its fantastic
@@nimblemonster well allright allright allllriiiiiight1 :D NOICE!
Kai-mera. It is pretty good. Just finished it
ooh yeah Phoenix point.. totally forgot about that game.
Thanks for reminding me.. i got that craving again and decided to go for LWotC, but im so slow at learning how they changed to much im kinda burned out of spesifically learning the LW's early game farther.
"grey woves sect of the ultramarine" lol
Hey, this is a good vid. Thx!
I hope you'll gain more subscriber!
Tysm! ❤️
xcom doesn't need a replacement, you just need the long war 2 mod
Yo, I liked your list!
I feel there are others for you to check:
- Gears of War:Tactics
- Wasteland 3
- Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
You'll probably love them too, for a few different reasons. It's sad though, bc XCOM is really unparalleled.
Yeah XCOM will always carry that top spot, I do talk about Gears Tactics in my second video in this series and wasteland 3 in my third if you're interested 👀
Marvel midnight suns… that’s my favorite Xcom style game I’ve played yet
I take no issue with Warhammer errors... LOL. Now, your comment that Phoenix Point was 'made by a cell of former X-Com developers' is an extreme understatement. Julian Gollop is THE X-COM/XCOM creator, the OG 1994 Classic with a hyphen! Someone wrote a book about him, and the OG X-COM, "Monsters in the Dark" by David Craddock. Good book, full of great tidbits about the gold standard of squad level turn based tactical (on tabletop, we call it 'skirmish') games. Okay, back to watching the rest of the video after pausing to point this out.
Gladius. An original Xbox game(ps2 and Gamecube too), finally backwards compatible. Great game that never got the attention it deserved.
I'll have to give it a look!
May I sugges Age of Wonders 3 or Age of Wonders Planetfall?
I'll give them a looksie 👀
"Don't die, bitch" is a great line to end an xcom video with! XD
By the way. Look up Marvel Midnight Suns. It's a turn based game by the same devs as xcom 2. Comes out this year
Yeah I saw that! I'm pretty amped for it, looks a bit different playstyle wise than XCOM as well, I'm curious to see what they've cooked up
Just delayed indefinitely...
100 hours?! Damn I'm in too deep and I'm down bad
X com is special because it feels like spec operation 😀
What's your opinion on the 40k Mechanicus game?
I haven't finished it yet but I'm about 8 hours in, and I can pretty confidently say it's quite fantastic, planning on releasing a video that will go a little more in depth about that game as well as a few others this Saturday.
How about Mechanicus? If you didn't played it check it out. It is fantastic turn based strategy man.
I haven't played that one yet! I'll give it a look before the sequel video, thanks for the recommendation!
@@nimblemonster Definitely worth checking out. If you like turn based strategies I also highly recommend Final Fantasy Tactics. It has a lot of jRPG flavors but is still fantastic strategy nevertheless.
This game made me want to throw my PC out the window. a few hours of "ok seems fun and complicated" followed by lies and deception. way too easy to break the game and shit on AI. 3/10 max.
Chimera, Pronounced ( Kai-Merra ) If you want your mind F*cking Blown go look how a human Chimera is made! Holy sh*t it's creepy. I had a Chimera Cat with a perfect Strip of black and orange on either side.
Thank you for mentioning this.
@@davidfinch7407 For sure man, I Enjoy spreading obscure knowledge 👍 He Hearted my comment then Un-hearted, Hope I didn't sound condescending lmao.
@@koffinkat666 I didn't even realize I un-hearted it I'm so sorry adgfkajgfakjh keep the knowledge flowing my man
@@nimblemonster Oh nah man it's all good I figured it was a miss-click lol. Great video and gave me kickass suggestions!. Subbing!
@@koffinkat666 glad you liked it!
lol warhammer xcom 40k war of the chaos gate chosen demon hunters.... solid joke.. solid vid .... subscribed
Happy to have you ❤️
Imagine craving xcom games when there is openxcom
whenever I think about x-com similars, xenonauts comes to mind. Still, I prefer playing Shadowrun Returns. Same style of game but cyberpunk/fantasy
Don’t know if this video is dead or not, but Gears Tactics (from the Gears of War franchise) got me into these games. Would recommend
You didn’t even show any game play lol tf
02:26 AN ARROW! It was an arrow. I know because a guard told me.
Can you make a video with all the rumors about xcom-3 ?
Sure!
When Xcom 2 is good, it's GOOD. When it's bad, it's bad. The aim system can completely ruin a mission, but it can also be so fun.
It's not the same but Blood Bowl 2 scratches that itch for me from time to time
0:20 I just said that to myself as I’m re-downloading xcom again
Warhammer 40k Mechanicus was a good fix for me in between XCOM 2 playthroughs
Just finished that one! I thought it was really quite good
Mutant: Year Zero
I wish Mutant Chronicles would get the same amount of love WH40K gets. I really do.
Is there a fix for the VIP in the Advent vehicle bug.? The vehicle keeps spawning outside the playable area. I am having to keep reloading to avoid the mission
I did some looking in to it and it looks like that's a bug that only happens with the Epic Games Store version, so the only fix at the moment is to have a save before every mission so you can reload just in case or to buy it on steam :/ sorry there isn't an easier fix, that's a super lame bug.
@@nimblemonster Thanks👍👍
Phoenix Point is so buggy it's almost unplayable on PS4. Steer clear!
Oh man! Good to know, thanks for letting everybody know!
Are there any games that have a similar character system as xcom 2, where you can name and customize and/or risk permadeath?
Fire Emblem is quite good when it comes to that, theres entire character plotlines you can miss out on if they die (I've only played a little bit of it but my brother loves it) it is a little more jrpg-ish so depends if that's your speed. Gears Tactics is good on the customization and perma-death too, and plays incredibly similar to XCOM 2, but there are a couple "main character" units that can't perma-die which is a bit immersion breaking. Otherwise Phoenix Point is basically XCOM 2 (was made by some of the X2 devs actually) just with a different coat of paint and some fun new mechanics. Apologies for the long winded reply lol
@@nimblemonster much appreciated friend
My man didn't even mention Troubleshooters. What a crime
Currently playing through it don't worry lol
The original x-com was amazing. Then x-com 2 was so much better that you have little reason to play x-com 1 unless you want the story.
If xcom 2012 is what you prefer to. For open xcom, that’s a huge mod community with hundreds hours of mod campaign.
I would love to see xcom3 it would be cool to play a multi race squad. But gameplay wise, it maybe a tough challenge to nail it rights.
Big agree
Fire Emblem series is nice, its basically Xcom but fantasy medieval combat. It got permanent death too, and its even more painful because your character have personality and history.
Been meaning to play that one, I'll move it up further on the list!
I mean, I wouldn't call it "basically xcom" since by that logic all turn based games with level up systems are identical in gameplay :'D That said Fire Emblem is really great Strategy RPG series.
@@ShadowoftheMask well, it got % based hit chances, permanent death, environment based combat (terrain is Fire Emblem cover bonus). It is xcom with sword and magic
Gears of War tactics is a fun one too
I agree, I talk about it in my sequel video if you're interested 👀
@@nimblemonster Didn't even realise there was a sequel haha. I'll head over!
Waiting for one of these damned games to have an endless mode.
Yep the video i need!
Happy to be of service!
"Flaming brassieres"
My favorite replacement i use is Battle Brothers, issue i have with phoenix point is that i feel like its a worse version of xcom, and im not sure why l because it on paper sounds like it should be a lot more fun bcuz its more diverse with vehicles and armor swapping etc, but i just find it boring.
Definitely agree with Battle Brothers, superb game
100 hours? so much more to go befor looking for anything else
You’re a good TH-camr man
asdgfkjadgs thank you so much ❤
"The Grey Wolves an Elite Sect of the Ultramarines" - Just wow...no
Me, 900+ hours in. This shit is not good. 🙂
Daemon has a similar meaning to genius. It isn't an evil thing, but a creative and sometimes disruptive power. Everyone has a daemon, get in touch with yours to become self-actualized. Demon is a lot of Victorian BS about a misinterpretation of thousands of years of philosophy and religion. Your fundamentalist uncle believes demons are possessing your high school drama teacher. They also make good boss level challenges in fantasy RPGs and vid games.
Deeemon.
Daaamon.
You decide.
That's actually super cool, thank you so much for sharing :0
Solid video
Ty ❤️
Can we add Midnight Suns now to this?
Planning on playing through that one soon, so it's definitely on my list!
@@nimblemonster cool. Hope you enjoy it. It’s definitely different from XCOM but still scratches the same itch and feels fresh.
Finished my second campaign now and thinking about a third already.
After playing Light and Dark Hunters now want to try a balanced/flexible approach and dive more into specialized mission teams.
@@Timelord79 I'm excited to try it out!
to add another game to your list try xenonaughts it was the way xcom first was and i find it really enjoyable if you can handle the way xcom used to be
I'll be sure to check it out!
Yep - 80s style which is great. Closest to the original UFO by far.
I just can’t get over Chimera Squads story. 5 years. Everyone found out how the elders fucked them into the dirt and are now buddy buddy. It just seems so half assed. I love the gameplay (though the death = game over is annoying) and the cinematically seemed to have gotten better. But it just seems so weird how the muton is now this fish faced guy and not the monster shock trooper in only 5 years. By this point every alien has been subjected to the highest extent where I can only see a few coming to terms. Not the amount there is in Chimera Squad. I honestly think they dropped the ball. Could’ve had an interesting story where each character shows us how they escaped and how the factions are taking it.
It was definitely a missed opportunity, hopefully future entries at least attempt to give us more in-depth looks at the aliens and how the previous wars affected them
totally agree about chimera squad - it just doesn't appeal to me like xcom 1 and 2. I especially don't like that there's a big cast and you can only pick like 6 of them or whatever. I guess it makes for replayability but for me was just disappointing.
Absolutely agree
Rebel cops is a decent example ino
I'll have to give it a look, haven't heard of that one 👀
It’s a 8/10 I like it’s story but there’s a mission where it usually takes 2 hours long but after that it’s pretty goof
*good
X-com 2 is one of the GREATEST games of all times
play vanilla and have an absolute blast , then add 150+ mods and make the game Harder, or Better, play Faster , characters Stonger ^^
Agree. 607 mods and near 8k hours can attest to that. Modding is only reason I am still playing it.
No Mechanicus?
It'll be in the video coming this Saturday :0
Just finished it lol
Shout out to the spouses who hate these games 😂
My wife calls this the homework game
Props to my fiance for continue to dealing with me and my XCOM 2 addiction lmao
never played an xcom game for the reason of it's turned based, but if you're saying it's a good game... Ima give it a loook
I highly recommend lol
I was never a fan of turn based games until I played Xcom Enemy Within on an Android tablet of all things lol. It's now my all time favorite franchise
Three most addictive games I ever played in my life are turn based, and I'm not a big fan of the genre or anything. Civ 5 was the first turn based game I played and it literally had me playing the entire night until the sun came up and had to go to work. Deleted it and never touched it again. Then came Xcom /Xcom 2 are both extremely addictive too though, so be careful is my only advice lol. They are games that will eat up 3-4 hours of time in what feels like the bat of an eye.
Chimera squad has a nice Tifa mod
Good to know 👀
Chimera Squad
Phoenix Point
Chaos gate daemon huntera
I just played X-com2 on multiple platforms. Also the War of the Chosen DLC is super fun, adds some nice new features.
I wanna try chaosgate, but haven't got around to it yet, partially because I hear it's kinda on the easy side, which is something I generally dislike.
I prefer phoenix point over xcom 2 in most ways actually, and not due to challenge. I just like the aiming mechanics so much more, as well as the dual classing.
My main beef with phoenix point though is mid-game. You get to the point where there are no more areas to salvage for resources in your area. You don't have enough tech and/or materials to purchase new bases or radar assemblies for them, so you just sit there waiting and hoping that the enemy invades a haven or something so you can get some precious resources to hopefully expand. OH, and that there are like 4-5 side quests that are on the opposite side of the world you can't get at because you can't buy said bases/radar assemblies. No matter what I do I get this. In my last playthru I didn't buy a single vehicle, flight or ground, I'm using kaos guns exclusively (and living weapons) because you don't pay for their ammo, and I only bought them on the cheap. I didn't even construct a single structure other than radar assemblies, and I STILL went broke in tech before getting half the map covered. I got all of South and North America, Antarctica, and pretty much all of Asia covered, almost at Australia, Europe, and Africa next. But somehow I don't have a single synedrion base in my territory, so I can't efficiently trade for tech like ever. argh.
As an Xcom clone, I prefer Gears Tactics then Phoenix Point. late game PP kills me, it does give tou new high level evolution of previous enemies, it just give more and more armor. In the end the strongest enemy are imune to most of your squad besides the explosion dude
No Wildermyth?
Haven't gotten the chance to play it yet
'k-eye-meer-rah'
Chimera Squad is best forgotten
gears tactics was ridiculously fun
Agreed, way better than I expected it to be lol (I talk about it in the sequel to this video just so ya know)
Ok I got 100 hours in Ccom 2, 100 on WOTC and I am too embarrassed to say how many on XCOM 2 Long War. Still no replacement.
Nothing ever does hit exactly as perfectly, my only hope is to provide distractions from that constant thirst for more
Saved me 5 min. by starting with Chimera Squad, that game is nothing like XCOM 2, so it's clear I can't trust you to supply me alternatives.
Hope for Xcom 3 someday
I just hope it comes out before I die lol